S I X

Random things, courtesy of Phx.

1. My feet shrunk a size after having kids. A side effect I was pleased with.

2. I hate the telephone. I hesitate to answer it (and yes, I always check the caller ID). I get stressed over making calls on it. Why can't everyone operate via email?

3. When the doorbell rings I will rarely answer it. If we are expecting a delivery, I'll take off to the bedroom and let my husband deal with it.

4. I wonder if I have undiagnosed social anxiety disorder?

5. I let my kids watch PBS until I've had at least two cups of coffee.

6. When I was little, my sister and I decorated toilet paper tubes with markers, cut three holes on the top and then sold them door to door around our neighborhood for 25 cents a pop. We called the trumpets. My mom was not amused and made us go back to return the money.

If I've inspired you to be random yourself, please, consider yourself tagged and let me know.

Eight

Susanna of Mommy Inc, has tagged me to post eight (random?) things about myself...the perfect challenge for someone always seeking a way to procrastinate.

1. I steal men's clothing. Beginning with my father when I was in high school - I stole his tube socks, and then t-shirts from the seventies (as fashion had begun to repeat itself), then other shirts and eventually even a pair or two of (quite baggy) jeans. Now, my husband frequently complains that I wear his socks (what can I say, I heart tube socks) and t-shirts. I suppose I just love getting lost in over sized cotton clothing.

2. My favorite board game is Balderdash, though I hardly ever play it "correctly" (or using the board for that matter.)

3. Vin and I are going on vacation in the fall as a belated five-year anniversary present to ourselves....assuming that we can afford the plane tickets to get to the port that our cruise ship is leaving from.

4. I eat weird things. Tuna with brown mustard and Red Hot and tabbouleh if I happen to have it. Or the occasional dish of Salmon Balls (which, according to my husband, smell as disgusting as they sound. I think they're tasty though.)

5. My sister and I wrote songs as kids - with stunning titles like Crash-Boom-Bang or Cathy's Got a Boyfriend. We also had a rap medley about saving the earth. (Perhaps we should have propositioned Mr. Gore to use it in his documentary?) We went so far as to choreograph dances with our songs and then perform them on stage at our town's Talent Show. The songs were catchy and sort of fun, but certainly not talent show worthy.

6. My grandmother had wanted me to be named Melania, which as a child I often thought sounded too much like something you would order from the deli case. Now I think it's quite pretty.

7. I have never lost anyone close to me, and the possibility terrifies me.

8. I'll be in two weddings in September, one as a bridesmaid and one as a groomsman.

I'm afraid I'm not much of a tagger though, but if you feel so inclined to do this yourself do let me know.

Wiki-lazy-post

Thanks again, Zhoen.

1. Go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (month and day only): August 19th

2. List events that occurred on that day of interest to you:

1692 - Salem Witch Trials: In Salem, Massachusetts, USA five women and a clergyman are executed after being convicted of witchcraft. (Bummer.)

1848 - California Gold Rush: The New York Herald breaks the news to the East Coast of the United States of the gold rush in California (Yee-Haw!)

1989 - Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be the first non-communist Prime Minister in 42 years. (I am Polish.)

1991 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Crimea. (Interesting the things you don't realize are happening as a self-absorbed pre-teen celebrating her birthday.)

3.List a Few Birthdays:

1881 - George Enescu, Romanian composer (d. 1955) (I heart Romania.)

1973 - Callum Blue, British actor (I enjoyed Dead Like Me.)

1979 - Jennifer Morrison, American actress (Exact same birthday, and a show I enjoy. Though this season isn't quite as good as the first two...and I hate her hair in it.)

(And a handful of rap artists...
1969 - Nate Dogg, American rapper
1970 - Fat Joe, American rapper
1980 - Jun Jin, Korean rapper (Shinhwa)
1989 - Lil Romeo, American rapper and actor)

Great.

4. List a death:

14 - Augustus, Roman Emperor (b. 63 BC) (Isn't the entire month of August named after him? Or am I showing the failings of public school with my ignorance...)

5. List a holiday or observance (if any):

Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the Saviour's Transfiguration, popularly known as the "Apples Feast" (it's the first day of the year when eating apples is allowed).

If you're reading this, I tag thee. C'mon, it doesn't get any easier than this (and I've done my fair share of lazy posts.)

Riveting, I'm Sure

Thoughts at this exact moment:

Must finish submission (due the 12th)

Perhaps eating an entire mashed up yellow turnip (or, root-a-begah) by oneself isn't the wisest decision one could make.

Thank God for having a warm house. (The furnace is working today, for the first time in almost a week - my handy-husband is my hero.)

Beginning to consider homeschooling as an viable option for our family...(anyone care to recommend books or websites to guide my thought process here?)

Considering this, leads to feelings of self-doubt. The same 'ol cloud of it that comes and goes in it's shadow-casting position over my thoughts. Today, the cloud is - You can't possible handle teaching your children yourself - shaped.

Fairly certain at this point, judging by the icky feeling in my stomach, that my suspicions about the turnip were valid.

Perhap I ought to lie down.

Monday Meme

Lazy post, thanks to Zhoen and Darkmind. I actually filled this out over the weekend, but didn't bother to post it until now. (Turns out that I was chilly, as indicated in number 17, because we ran out of oil for our furnace sometime early on Saturday and by that evening the house was beginning to get, well, chilled. I spent the rest of my weekend running the pellet stove, bundling small children in blankets and boiling water on the stovetop for heat...)

1. Do you like cheese? Not particularly. My husband, however, could be called a fiend.

2. Have you ever smoked heroin? Never smoked anything, nor used any drugs.

3. Do you own a gun? I do not, though my father did give give me mace as a stocking stuffer once.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Only if a scale is involved. How sad is that? Poke me? Prod me where? Draw blood? Whatever...just don't you dare try to weigh me.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I only eat fish and some poultry - and I don't really care for chicken or turkey hot dogs. (And I don't imagine I'd care for fish-dogs much either...)

7. What's your favourite Christmas song? I heart all thing Christmas. I sing Christmas carols in July. For the purpose of this question though, I'll say Carol of the Bells.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee. Black coffee. Splenda if you have it.

9. Can you do push ups? Yes, but not well. I don't care for them.

10. Is your bathroom clean? Pretty clean...though it could always use a quick wipe-down before company comes over.

11. What's your favourite piece of jewellery? My wedding/engagement ring(s). I wish I still had my butterfly ring...

Where's 12? Wasn't my turn to keep watch.

13. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? A bottle of pheramone enhanced perfume I bought from a scientist that I found in an ad in the back of a magazine. What a bizarre question.

14. Do you have friends? More than I deserve, considering my lax phone skills.

15. Do you miss someone? Many friends, distanced by both time and miles.

16. Middle Name? Theresa. Eh. It's ok. I'm not wild about my first name either.

17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?
I am chilly.
I hate being alone (Husband is away on a retreat with men from our church)
I wonder if I should get something to help facilitate the healing of the mark on my nose.

19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink: Water - lots. Coffee - more than I should. Diet Gingerale - less than usual lately.

20. Current worry?: Will I be able to fall asleep alone?

21. Current hate? I don't hate. I get annoyed or let down or angered, but I don't generally reach a level of 'hate' - wait...now that I said that, it's not true. I have a hard time not hating people who harm children, in any way.

22. Favourite place to be? Anywhere with my husband. He makes me laugh, and I like that.

23. How did you bring in the New Year? Huddled beneath a blanket in front of our pellet stove with both of our children wrapped in our arms - fending off the FREEZING cold. We had been away for a few days and someone turned the heat off while we were gone. And so, we arrived home at 11 pm on New Years Eve, with two fevered and quite ill children, and no warm place to lay them down.

24. Where would you like to go? On a cruise someplace sunny and warm - miles and miles away from brown slush and March (or as LJ so affectionately referred to it last year - Farch)

27. Do you own slippers? I don't. But my feet are chilly tonight and I wish I did.

28. What shirt are you wearing? Hideous blue sweater that dips into a V-neck, in the front and back.

29. Do you burn or tan? Both. First burn, then tan - but only enough to look a little warmer than ivory. And my freckles pop out like mad across the bridge of my nose.

30. Favourite colour? Sage or indigo, depends on my mood.

31. Would you be a pirate? Yar. Actually, no. I'd imagine that the bathroom situation on board a pirate ship wouldn't be very pleasant, especially for a lady. I like a comfortable bathroom.

32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Ugh. Lately it's kids songs. Under A Shady Tree by Laurie Berkner this morning.

35. What's in your pocket right now? No pockets.

36. Last thing that made you laugh? Husband.

37. Best bed sheets as a child? Nothing special. No designs or anything that I can remember. Maybe once...maybe some Smurf ones from my grandmother? I can't recall exactly.

38. Worst injury you've ever had? In Romania, I went to check the mail at my apartment and didn't realize that someone had opened a hatch on the floor in front of the boxes. I fell down into it and twisted my ankle pretty badly - it swelled like I'd shoved a softball beneath the skin. A black softball.

39. What is your biggest pet peeve? You know, I just had one the other day - and I thought, man, if someone asks me what my biggest pet peeve is, this is it --- but apparently it wasn't that big of a deal, as I've already forgotten about it.

40. How many TVs do you have in your house? Two.

41. Who is your loudest friend? This is tough. I was a Communication Arts undergrad - I have loud, artistic friends. Probably the artist, still in school and getting married this year.

42. Who is your most silent friend? I don't have silent friends. Or even remotely quiet ones.

43. Does someone have a crush on you? Vin does. And it's pretty sweet. (You have my permission to gag and roll your eyes now...)

44. Do you wish on shooting stars? Not on shooting ones, just on any 'ol star we could see from the bedroom. I also have a vague recollection of leaving cornflakes out for someone to collect in return for granting a wish - I was a strange child. Or, I might have dreamt that up.

45. What is your favourite book? I honestly don't have a favorite, especially not now. My brain is absolutely clogged with so much fiction (reading for school) that I can't even figure out what's what anymore.

46. What is your favourite sweet? Lately - Cool Whip Free, frozen and eaten like ice cream. Historically? Ice cream.

47. What song do/did you want played at your wedding? We were announced as husband and wife, flowers a-wavin' to the tune of Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down, then danced to And So It Goes by Billy Joel. We love us some Billy.

48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Livin' on a Prayer, baby. Kidding, kidding. I don't have an answer for this. Depending on when I die, and who of my family is still alive, I'd love for my sister to sing. She has a phenomenal voice. Though, I don't know if she'd be able to do that - much like I don't think I'd be able to stand up and speak at the funeral of she or my brother if either of them were to die tomorrow.

49. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? Climbing into bed? Can't remember. Maybe giving Lila one last bottle.

50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? I can't remember exactly. Probably something to do with the baby or The Boss - whoever was making the noise that stirred me from slumber.